


the most natural thing in the world (is having you next to me)

by orphan_account



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: 3AM me is very emotional about things, Fluff, M/M, childhood friends au!, go me for finishing this at this kind of hour, i spent eleven years writing this, man i know i suck for writing yet another fic without finishing my old ones but i'll get to them, this took me SO LONG
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-25 00:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3789151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas is six when he meets the boy who lives next door. His name is Isaac, and he's only a half year older than Thomas. Thomas thinks he likes Isaac, and Isaac likes him too, because he lets Thomas pick what game they're gonna play every time and doesn't even laugh at him or call him lame when he chooses to play hide and seek.</p><p>a childhood friends au because i have a special place in my heart for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the most natural thing in the world (is having you next to me)

Thomas is six when he meets the boy who lives next door. His name is Isaac, and he's only a half year older than Thomas. Thomas thinks he likes Isaac, and Isaac likes him too, because he lets Thomas pick what game they're gonna play every time and doesn't even laugh at him or call him lame when he chooses to play hide and seek.

 

Thomas is seven when he goes to the park for the first time. Isaac is there with him. They spend the entire day laughing because Isaac's concept of fun is trying to push Thomas down the twisty slide unexpectedly and following him down. Afterwards, when they're both worn out and panting, Isaac shares half of his turkey sandwich with Thomas. He knows it's a small gesture, but he can feel his heart swell a bit, because he knows turkey is Isaac's favourite.

 

Thomas is ten when they have their first sleepover. His parents and Isaac's made sure they'd both be settled in before five. Isaac's room can't really be described as big, but they decide to pretend 'the floor is lava' anyway. Thomas tries to make the jump from Isaac's swivel chair to his bed and ends up falling right on top of him. He can feel Isaac's breath of laughter on his neck and pushes his arms up so his head is directly over the other boy's, and he thinks not for the first time, that Isaac is beautiful. They stay like that in comfortable silence until Isaac's mom calls them down for dinner and he gets off to help Isaac stand. it's as if the moment is broken, and all the pieces that were falling into place are driving away again. Thomas feels empty. Later that night they build a fort out of blankets and the minimal furniture in Isaac's room , but to them it's a castle and they are untouchable.

 

Thomas is eleven when his parents' fighting gets too much for him to handle. He crawls out from under his covers and calls Isaac to ask if he can sleep over. He's crying by the time he rings the doorbell of the other boy's home and when Isaac sees him, the first thing he does is pull him into a hug. 

"You're safe here."

Maybe it's the way Isaac holds him, or how his voice doesn't crack in the slightest when he says it, but Thomas can't help but think he is. He doesn't ask Thomas any questions, for which Thomas is grateful. Isaac lets him sleep in his own bed and holds his hand until he falls asleep.

 

It's at age thirteen when Thomas realises that he's the only one who Isaac lets call him his first name. At school, he's Newton, or Newt for short. Their friend Minho points it out for him. He asks Isaac about it later, on the way home from school.

"Why don't you let anyone else call you Isaac?"

"I don't know, it doesn't feel right."

"But, you let me call you that."

"Okay, let me rephrase, It doesn't feel right coming from anyone but you."

Thomas never calls Isaac his first name in public after that. He saves it for moments that are just for the two of them. Memories no one else will have. Isaac doesn't seem to mind.

 

When Thomas and Newt are fourteen, they join the track team. Newt is faster than him, but he never brings it up. One day Thomas is going to catch up to him. He's going to be able to run beside him. If he's lucky, he'll beat Minho too and wipe that smirk off his face. This day though, neither of those things are going to happen. Today, Thomas will trip on air and end up hurting his ankle. He knows it's just a sprain, he can feel it, but the entire team surrounds him and fusses over him. The voices all blur together and Newt's the only one he hears.

"You bloody idiot Thomas, I'm gonna have to visit the hospital every day until you get better now. Bloody hospital cafeteria food for a week."

His ankle hurts like hell, but Thomas laughs.

Later when he's settled in the hospital room, Isaac's head resting on his own forearms at the edge of the bed, Thomas thinks it's beautiful to have his best friend fall asleep next to him like it's the most natural thing in the world.

 

The summer Thomas turns fifteen is his first without Newt, who is visiting his relatives in England for the rest of their break. Thomas gets up early to see Newt off, stumbling out of his bed at 6AM in his pyjamas. He gets out the door and Newt is already standing in his front yard, pulling him into a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you."

"Is this a hello, or is this goodbye?"

"It's neither and both at the same time."

"I'm gonna miss you. a lot."

"You better."

Newt is only going to be away for two months, but it's going to be the longest time Thomas is without Newt. This feels important. Thomas feels as though he should do something. But Newt's parents honk their car and gesture for them to come closer, and Newt's parents give Thomas a proper goodbye, Newt's own mother peppering his face with kisses.

"We'll all miss you kiddo. Don't get into so much trouble while our son isn't here to save you, alright?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh come on honey, let the boy have some fun."

"If you're both done embarrassing me, we can go now."

And with a final exchange of goodbyes, Newt's father starts the car and drives off their street.

Thomas feels hollow already, deciding that seeing Newt on a computer screen isn't going to be the same as seeing him in person, and that he wants to see his best friend one more time. Before he knows it,  he feels himself break into a run, chasing the car as he does. His feet have a mind of their own and as far as Thomas is concerned, he's flying. He catches up to it right before the car turns the curb. Thomas waves at Newt one last time, giving him the biggest smile Thomas can manage.  It's worth it, Thomas thinks later, if the small chuckle he sees Newt fails to suppress is anything to go by. How was that for heart warming gestures?

 

Thomas and Newt are seventeen when they get together. Their friends will deny this though, say that it happened later when they shared their first kiss, but they both know it happened the weekend before finals, in the library, both barely awake, when Thomas hooked his pinky finger with Newt's and made him promise not to leave.

"We've already decided to go to the same university, what's this about?"

"Isaac, you're my best friend."

"I know."

"And I am irrevocably, positively, undeniably, unmistakably, irrefutably, unquestionably, definitely, unequivocally, have always been, beyond a doubt absolutely in love with you."

"I wish I could tell you I didn't know that. I also wish I had a thesaurus to answer you, but I don't, so you'll have to settle for a plain 'I've always loved you.'"

They sit in comfortable silence after that, squeezing each other's hand once in a while just to let the other know they're alive. And they fall asleep next to each other, like it's the most natural thing in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> i listened to so many songs writing this and i cried so many times. it's 2AM and i just finished this, so it's unbeta'd. please comment any mistakes you see or just tell me if you enjoyed it, it would make my day, really. sucky writing with mountainlaurels here again. don't hit me pls i'll finish my other fics. someday.


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